Shooters vying for rare Olympic quotas

In order to secure direct entry at this year's Paris Olympic Games, nine shooters from Bangladesh have been training in Jakarta for the Asian Olympic shooting qualifiers, which will take place from January 5 to 18 in Indonesia.

A total of 24 quota spots will be on offer in which Bangladeshi shooters will compete for seven places -- two each for men's and women's 10m rifle events, two for men's 10m pistol event and one for women's 10m pistol event.

Despite the fact that the country's shooting has always been regarded as the most promising discipline at the international level, the shooters have never won a single medal on larger stages such as the Asian Games or the Olympics, with the exception of the South Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games.

Rather than achieving a quota, Bangladeshi shooters had always competed in the Olympic Games, courtesy of a wild-card entry. In the country's sporting history, only golfer Siddiqur Rahman and archer Ruman Sana have competed in the Olympics on their own merits.

"We arrived in Jakarta a bit early, on December 29, in an attempt to acclimatise and ensure better preparation as well. The shooters are facing a bit of a problem in the warm conditions here, after having experienced cold weather in Bangladesh of late," assistant coach Golam Shaifuddin Khan Shiplu told The Daily Star from Jakarta yesterday.

Pistol shooters -- Noor Hossain Alif, Pias Hossain and Anjila Ahmed Antu -- will begin their campaign on January 8 while the rifle shooters -- Shaira Arefin, Kamrun Nahar Koly, Jafirah Khanom Chowdhury, Robiul Islam, Arnab Sharar and younger Jidan Hossain -- will play their respective 10m rifle events on January 10.

Among the nine competitors, Shaira, Koly, and Robiul have generated the most optimism due to their recent training performance and potential for an Olympic quota.

"The shooting trio has been performing well in training under Iranian coach Zaer Rezaei, scoring more than 630 points. Shaira once scored 632.9, Koly 632.2, and Robiul 631.6," informed Bangladesh camp commandant and BSSF joint secretary Mustaque Waiz.

He continued, "If they can transform their training performance into the main competition, then there is a good possibility to qualify for the final.

"Anything can happen in the final. Even if they finish third or fourth, they will have a chance to secure Olympic quota spots, as shooters from India, China, and Japan have already done."